These 10 webcomics worth checking out

Webcomics are a cost-effective way to read interesting and diverse stories, and it’s only getting easier to find them, but now there are so many it can be hard to choose which stories to read, but this top 10 list may help you figure out where to start.

This is not fiction by Nicole Mannino is an ongoing comic about a boy named Julian Drees who has an obsessive crush on anonymous novelist, Sydney Morgan. He and his best friend hire a mysterious trickster and the self-proclaimed “Godfather of high school,” Landon Addison, to try to uncover the real identity of Sydney Morgan while Julian learns about friendship, what is really important and true love. 

With a cartoony style full of movement and humor, This is not fiction is mostly a comedy, but the light-hearted humor makes the serious moments with limited comedy even more emotional.  With stories that are too dark, it can be hard to be invested in the relationships if you only see the characters fighting, but seeing the light-hearted moments of love makes the miscommunications and confessions all the more dramatic and realistic.

Suitor Armor by Purpah is an ongoing comic about Lady-in-Waiting, Lucia, who is harboring a secret about her true heritage: a secret that if exposed would kill her. While preparing for her Princess’ wedding she is entangled in the life of up and coming but mysterious knight, Modeus. Lucia and Modeus together uncover the secrets of their kingdom while exploring their own humanity. 

Suitor Armor so far has a relatively simple fantasy world that they explain thoroughly without any extra lore in other media or blogs you have to shift through. The simplicity allows the reader to get more invested in the plot without being confused or overwhelmed by the world they’re being introduced to. The bonds between characters, including the romantic bonds, are genuine and grounded, and the characters are easy to connect to and create a world fantastical but still relatable. 

“Dallas still thinks that Malek is alive.” Everything was going well for Dallas. He was about to graduate high school, and he was Willow Grove’s star baseball player. That is until his best friend Malek goes missing. Something is lurking in the quiet town of Blue Crest.

Eerie Crest is an ongoing horror mystery comic by Caleb. The comic can be a little confusing to follow with its abstract storytelling, but that obscuring of the story adds to the mystery. Are you able to trust Dallas’ point of view? Are all the spirits in his head? Or is the horror real? The perspective is a part of what makes chills go up to your spine. It is quite a different horror story than the usual run away from the monster, and it has a cast full of LGBT+ and or characters of color that have depth and aren’t thrown at the monster for cheap tears. An example of this is the main character Dallas himself who is Filipino Sephardic Jewish and a bi trans man. Much like the author himself! 

One flaw is that the updates are spotty, which I am not faulting the author much for since he is making a free webcomic. The author is currently working on fantasy webcomic, Uri and the Wolf, plus has a lot going on in his life. I am looking forward to reading Uri and The Wolf soon! 

Pathways: Chronicles of Tuvana by Elaine Tipping is a more complicated high fantasy story than Suitor Armor as described before and is ongoing. It is about the nations of Tuvana after their tense truce deciding to do an archeological dig to discover more about the land’s history, but after they discover bodies in pods underground. The fanatic holy order of Miakarna inprisons everyone apart of the dig, except for one.

I was a little hesitant to put this on the list since I haven’t read this comic in a while, and I didn’t have enough time to catch up on it before writing this article, but I do remember the great in depth world building and emotional impact this story had on me. The characters are very alive and fleshed out, so you feel more grounded to the world of Tuvana, but the world building can get confusing. Still, if you are someone who likes high fantasy (with a splash of sci-fi), I would highly recommend Chronicles of Tuvana.

Revelation of Eros is based on the life of the co-writer of the story who goes by Chupacabra. Eros moved to America from the slums of Mexico. He just wants to be left alone and get his degree. But no matter how far he tries to push people away, there are always going to be people looking out for him. Will Eros ever open up and start living for himself?

This is an ongoing comic, and it has made me cry multiple times. Ero’s story and journey of grief are so touching, and the story is so genuine. The comic balances lighthearted moments with serious and occansically quite dark moments in a blend that feels just like real life. It does lend how real it feels to how it is based on the life of one of the authors. Each comic ends with a little bit from the authors. Usually they are reacting to fanart, but you get to learn more about the authors as you do the characters, so you really feel how important they felt telling this story is and how dedicated they are. Not only did they get me invested in the cast’s lives, but in the authors’ lives when usually the author feels like a distant figure, so for that I commend the authors AkumaYoru and Chupacarba.

Recoil is an ongoing comic by Spire Eaton. Kalo was an average teenager until his supernatural powers emerged, killing his girlfriend in an accident. He got put into super power therapy with other powerful teens, but not everything is as it seems.

Recoil is another horror comic, also notable for how it doesn’t throw away it’s characters of color and/or queer characters. The art style is very expressive, making all the moments of peace, drama and horror all the more potent. This comic differers from the horror of Eerie Crests because in that comic the horror comes more from the horrors of the unknown and supernatural, and if I remember correctly, doesn’t have any violence for horror. Meanwhile, this comic can be chillingly graphic with violence, so viewer discretion is advised. This comic shines a light on the policing of the queer and neurodiverse experience through the metaphor of superpowers, so the horror isn’t a mystery like Eerie Crest, but it is a seemingly unescapable force that strips away your humanity. It is a worthwhile read, if you can handle it.

Muted is an ongoing comic that is nearing its end by Miranda Mundt. It is an Urban Fantasy comic about different witch clans living in Louisiana. The protagonist Camile is from the Severin Clan of blood witches. During the traditional coming of age demon summoning ritual, something goes wrong and Camile begins to uncover secrets that will change the Severin Clan forever.

Muted is an emotional, action packed story on the cycle of abuse and unhealthy families. Everyone in the Severin Clan sacrifices their happiness for the prosperity of the family, and although they are respected, they are feared by their fellow clans, and no one in the Severin Clan is truly happy until Camile forces the family to admit their issues and the survivors try to break free of the prison that has become Severin Manor and change their fate. 

Heir’s Game is an on-going comic by Susanna “Suspu” Nousiainen. The Duchy of Belluna hosts a competition called the Heir’s game whenever the heir is about to ascend to the throne. The game features duelists competing against each other and whoever wins gets to be the bodyguard for the new heir. Isran joins the game just because he wants a job, but when he meets the heir, their budding romance adds stakes to the game, higher meaning to their lives and threatens the Duchy of Belluna. May the best duelist win.

Heir’s Game is the second webcomic I ever read and is by the same author who wrote my first ever webcomic, ShootAround, which although good, had a rushed ending and wasn’t as emotional as Heir’s Game. It’s been awesome seeing Suspu develop as an author being able to create stories with more potent action, drama and themes.

O, Human Star by Blue Delliquanti is the only finished comic on this list. It is about Alistair Sterling, awakened from his death in a robot body in the future of 2021 (this was written in 2012). He was the inventor who sparked the robot revolution but died before he saw his impact. Now awakened in an unfamiliar world. He searches for his old colleague for answers, only to get more questions. How much of the past should stay in the past?

O, Human Star is the only comic on this list to win awards such as the 2012 Prism Comics Queer Press Grant and Best Self-Published Work and Best in Show at the DINK Awards in 2016. The story switches back between past and present in a clear signal and contrasting color scheme, blue for future, orange for past as you learn how did the robot revolution start; what is Alistair and his former colleague, Brendan’s, relationship; who is Brendan’s daughter Sulla; how did Alistair die and why is he back. It has wonderful pacing and a story that sucks you in. I finished this comic in less than a week! The sci-fi world isn’t too complex to understand. It’s just Earth but with robots, but the characters are where the real complexity comes in.

Now for my favorite webcomic of all time, Strong Female Protagonist written by Brennan Lee Mulligan and drawn by Molly Ostertag. It follows former superhero Alison Green as she tries to go to college after wasting her youth in a superhero team. Alison navigates how to be an adult despite her strange childhood and figures out how to be a social activist, but Alison learns that she can’t escape her past or herself so easily. 

This comic does what DC and Marvel wishes they did. It is a realistic superhero story that is not grimdark. Strong Female Protagonist has some really dark, serious topics, such as issue 5, which has a plot surrounding rape and sexual assualt, yet it navigates them not only with tactifulness but with beauty. The way superheroes live politically feels just like how it would in real life in a way that must’ve come from a deep understanding of politics by the author himself, and Strong Female Protagonist always maintain that humans are good and there is hope. People don’t want to see Superman succumb to greed or apathy; we want to see Superman always have hope for humanity even when things get hard. We want to see him struggle without giving up. and this is what Alison Green does. Not to mention this hope is maintained with hopeful ends and happy moments with friends, so as an audience, we don’t ask why Alison is so determined when no one appreciates her and nothing gets better because there is love and hope for her, and there is hope and love for the audience as well.

I will note that due to the creator’s busy schedule with Mulligan working at College Humor and Ostertag on the Disney Channel show Owl House, similarly to Eerie Crests, the comic has been on hiatus and updates very slowly, which can be frustrating, but is understandable. Creator’s real life protrioties should come first, and it shows their dedication to not just shovel out mediocre content because readers are impatient, but to create art that readers will be satisfied with and carry with them for the rest of their lives. 

 

Thank you webcomic creators for making art that is inclusive, funny, dramatic, genuine, beautiful—for making webcomics for often no pay but still making the webcomic free so anyone can read them.

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